Jaune jerked awake, his heart pounding painfully against his ribcage as he panted from the shock brought on by the vision. His skin was crawling, and it felt cold and clammy; flashes of the monstrous woman – Salem, his brain corrected – came back to him, and his hands shook as he brought them up to his face. He tried to calm his turning stomach, but after a few seconds he couldn't control it anymore. The blonde placed a hand on the roof to steady himself as he promptly emptied the contents of his stomach into one of the cargo crates aboard the ship.
Jaune?! The red-furred Nymean next to him struggled to her feet, trying to fight through the last dregs of tranquilizer affecting her as she hurried across the cargo net to where her partner lay retching. Pyrrha's worry and fear washed over Jaune, causing another wave of nausea that made him sick again. Pyrrha's nose hovered close to his cheek, her paw placed gently on his back in an attempt to ground him. It's all right. I'm here, Jaune. Let the vision go, everything is all right, she purred gently in his head to calm him down. After a moment, Jaune brought a hand up to wipe his mouth and turned to her with a weak smile.
"I'm okay, Pyr," he said, voice shaking and weak. "I-I think so, at least." The Grimm rubbed her cheek against his softly, affectionately, and gently curled around him as if to protect him from what he'd seen, careful to keep any spikes that were growing in far away from him. Jaune wrapped one arm around her, burying his fingers in her thick crimson fur and placing his head against her side. He spent a few minutes listening to her breathing beside him and let the steady rhythm of it calm him down.
Are you feeling a little better? Pyrrha asked, her green eyes watching his face steadily. Jaune took another deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts before answering, but he couldn't quite shake what he had seen.
"What was that, Pyrrha? Who was that?" He asked by way of a response, meeting her eyes for a moment before she looked away, guilt coming off of her in waves. Jaune closed his eyes and ran his hands through her fur as he waited for her to answer.
I… I'm so sorry you were forced to see that, Jaune, Pyrrha began, placing her head in his lap and refusing to look him in the eyes. That… That was Salem, the woman who did this to me. It was… A memory. Jaune exhaled harshly.
"Gotcha. That was… Pretty horrifying," he commented, fingers tightening in Pyrrha's fur as he tried to shut out any recollection of what he'd seen. He really didn't feel like throwing up again.
The pair sat up in the cargo net for a bit longer, snuggled together and enjoying each other's presence. Jaune slowly ran his fingers along Pyrrha's spine, stopping every few minutes or so to scratch her behind the ear or on the shoulder blade. The Nymean purred steadily at him, rubbing her cheek into his hand and raising her head to touch her nose to his every so often. They were content to just lay together for the first time in a while, but that was interrupted when Weiss called back to the others from the cockpit.
"We have a distress beacon coming in from a village nearby. Are your two ready to fly down and help?" Jaune sighed and patted Pyrrha gently on the head before getting up. He made his way off the cargo net, trying not to catch his feet in the holes, and hopped down to the floor, making a note to dump the vomit-filled box below the net later as he headed toward the front of the ship. When he reached the cockpit, Ruby and Qrow were crowded around the dashboard, while the others kept their distance.
"Hey guys. What's the beacon about?" He asked. The two members of the Xiao Long-Rose family turned to face him, while Weiss remained focused on the control panel, clicking buttons here and there and gently steering the ship towards the village.
"Looks like the villagers lost a kid," Qrow finally explained as he pulled up the beacon's information on a screen. "They might be in danger, but we've got to land to get more info." Weiss turned to look at all of them.
"We're running low on Dust to fly anyway, so we have to refill sometime soon. It'd be prudent to just land here and fuel up, and then decide whether to stay the course or not," the heiress advised, eyes focused on the sky through the ship's windshield. "That's what I was just telling these two." Jaune nodded in understanding and glanced back down at Pyrrha, who was still curled up in the cargo net, before turning to look out at the village ahead of them.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?"
Upon landing in the village, most of the group piled out of the ship and began heading for the town center, leaving Jaune and Pyrrha inside. The Grimm whined at her partner, giving him puppy eyes as he shook his head.
"No, Pyrrha, you can't come with us. The villagers'll try to hurt you. I'm sorry," Jaune said apologetically as he scratched her behind her ears again. Pyrrha looked down in dejection.
I really don't want to be left alone in here, Jaune… She responded, a tinge of sadness and fear in her tone. Jaune ran a hand through his hair and sighed loudly.
"I don't wanna leave you here by yourself, trust me," he began as he squatted down to meet her eyes and placed a hand gently on top of her head. "It'll only be for a few minutes, I promise. We just gotta get the summary for this mission and then we'll be back, okay?" Pyrrha merely nodded in response and pouted at him as he walked down the ramp and off the ship. "Stay inside, Pyr."
Jaune watched long enough to see the ramp close up and lock before he huffed and hurried to catch up with the others, an immense guilt weighing in his stomach. He hated leaving her alone, even when he knew she could defend herself just fine. As the blonde walked away, he could swear he heard Pyrrha whining after him, but with a shake of his head, he continued on to the town center.
When he arrived, Jaune found the others already in conversation with an older man. He walked up to stand with them and hear the last snippets of the mission details, and Ruby moved aside to give him room. Jaune nodded to her in thanks before turning his attention back to the conversation.
"...A small child, a female deer Faunus with a tail trait around four to five years old, got lost in the woods around the village not long ago. It seems she was playing with some of the other children and wandered off too far. The hunting parties have spotted a pride of Nymeans, so the girl is in grave danger, and we still don't have any clue as to where she may be," the elder summarized, desperation coloring his words as his fists clenched at his side. He looked up and his eyes wandered over each of their faces before he continued, "We hate to ask you all to go out and find her, but we're truly worried. Please, help us." Jaune and Ruby exchanged a glance before the red-head stepped forward.
"We'd happily help in any way we can, sir."
After receiving the mission brief and helping his friends gather supplies for their mission, Jaune ran ahead to get back to the airship. He bounced on his toes as the ramp to the ship lowered, trying to be patient while the mechanisms did their work. Before the ramp even fully hit the ground, Jaune heard a loud yelp of excitement as he was bowled over by a purring mass of red fur. The blonde giggled while his partner rubbed her cheek against his, and he lightly patted her chest after a moment.
"All right, Pyr. Please let me get up." Pyrrha gently grabbed his hood in her teeth and pulled him up, and she sat in front of him. He smiled at her and rubbed a hand across her shoulder blade - careful to avoid the newly forming bone spur between them - as the others caught up to him.
"Jeez, Jaune!" Nora called to him as she came to a halt next to Pyrrha, trying to catch her breath from having raced after her leader. Jaune just chuckled at her before looking at Ruby.
"Are we all packed up? If we are, we can just head out from here," he said, fingers tugging on one of the straps of his backpack, and Ruby nodded. Without a moment's hesitation, the group took off towards the forest, their pace speaking to the urgency with which they needed to rescue the child. Jaune and Pyrrha walked side-by-side as they circled the village through the woods, calling out for the child and hoping that they'd get lucky and find her without too much trouble.
About an hour after they'd set out, Pyrrha caught a trace the girl's scent and took over tracking her. They traveled for another half an hour before she turned back to Jaune, meeting his eyes as she spoke. I can sense fear nearby. The blond grimaced.
"Can you tell if she's okay?" He asked, hoping for a positive answer, but Pyrrha shook her head. Jaune sighed and continued forward.
"At least we know she's alive," Qrow commented. Jaune nodded but didn't say anything.
The others fanned out behind Jaune and Pyrrha as the latter continued tracking the child, her actions becoming more frenzied as they drew closer. Finally, Pyrrha dashed off ahead of the group with no warning.
"Pyrrha, wait!" Jaune shouted as the group raced to keep up with her. When they caught up, they found Pyrrha standing in a defensive position over the missing child and growling, surrounded by a pack of older Nymeans. Their fur was black as night, eyes red as blood, and they were covered in spikes and bone plates from head to toe. They were four times Pyrrha's size; Jaune estimated that the tallest stood the height of some of the mansions in Vale, and had claws and fangs to match. The Grimm looked shocked - if that was possible – that one of their own had stopped to defend a human. After a moment, the biggest of the pack began barking in laughter at Pyrrha's show.
What is this? A tiny girl trying to stand up to us? You're funny, little one, the leader said, and Jaune gasped slightly as he realized he could hear them as well, thinking that they must've been using the Grimm link to do so. Pyrrha merely continued growling and dug her claws into the earth beneath her. Ruby tapped Jaune on the shoulder before sneaking behind the red Grimm with Qrow and snatching the little girl up from behind her. Pyrrha waved her tail in thanks, her attention focused on the enemies in front of her.
I may be small, but I can still take you down, Pyrrha snarled up at the large Grimm, her eyes narrowed and blazing. It snorted at her, and the group of students behind readied themselves for a fight. Qrow stood in front of them, his sword held out in defense of the less experienced teenagers. The Grimm, however, didn't seem to care about the humans and were still focused on the red-furred oddity who dared to challenge them so boldly.
Oh, you can, can you? Please. With that, it scanned the humans in front of it, determining their threat level before it jerked its head to signal the others to follow and began walking away. Come on, Salem's calling us, it said, before turning back and meeting Pyrrha's eyes. Face reality, tiny one. You're naught but a baby. As if on cue, Pyrrha began snarling.
"Oh no," Jaune said, feeling fury roll off his partner in waves. "Pyrrha, please don't."
What did you just call me? The red-furred lion asked angrily, her eyes flashing red for a moment. The Nymean looking at her smirked before repeating itself, its voice dripping with derision.
You're a baby. A yearling. An armorless newborn.
Pyrrha snapped, roaring loudly and jumping onto the leader's flank. She clawed at its fur, ripping tufts of it free, and sunk her teeth deep into its shoulder. The leader growled quietly in discomfort but shook Pyrrha off with ease. With a casual swipe of his paw, he sent the infant Nymean flying, and she tumbled across the ground before finally coming to a painful stop. Nice try, but you're too small to stand a chance against us, child. Why the master desires to bring you back into the fold is beyond me. You are weak, weaker than even these puny Hunters-to-be and their Huntsman master.
Pyrrha struggled to her feet, whimpering with pain, and Jaune rushed to her side. Her eyes tracked the pride as it left, and when they were gone her head dipped down. I'm sorry, Jaune. If they had attacked… She didn't need to finish her sentence for Jaune to figure out what she meant. He shook his head at her.
"It's fine, Pyr. We're fine," he calmed her, one hand rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. "But next time, please, please don't go after them when they're walking away. That could've ended really, really badly." Pyrrha's head drooped even further.
I'm not a baby, Jaune, she whimpered by way of an apology, a feeling of insecurity coating the words. Jaune sighed.
"I know, Pyrrha. I know."
The team walked back toward the village with the small deer Faunus child in tow, her little tail twitching in excitement as they went. The little girl seemed fixated with Pyrrha, as she hung off of the Nymean's forelegs as she walked. Pyrrha did her best to walk in a way that did not disturb the girl or knock her away, and Jaune smiled a bit at the sight of the pair. Once they reached the edge of town, Pyrrha broke off from the group.
I should stay out here so no one gets scared, she explained when the others turned to her. Jaune knitted his eyebrows.
"What are you talking about? At least go wait back in the airship, Pyr," he said, trying to reason with her, but the Nymean shook her head.
I don't think it would be wise to take the airship from here. You all don't know Mistral quite like I do; they'll shoot down the ship sooner than they would radio to find out what's going on, especially since tensions are high between Mistral and Atlas, and the ship is Atlesian, Pyrrha advised as she nudged the child off of her leg. It'd be better to walk like we did in Vale. Jaune nodded at her before translating to the others, who all agreed with the idea.
As the group began to head back within the walls and Pyrrha finally peeled the Faunus child off her leg, Blake approached the girl and motioned for her to follow. With one last glance at the Nymean, the deer dashed up to Blake and gave her a tight hug. The cat-eared Huntress smiled and gently led the child inside, and Pyrrha watched them leave. She took a place outside the gate and watched the horizon, a crimson sentinel ready to face any danger that threatened the village.
Jaune, Ruby, and Blake wasted no time delivering the child to the town center. When they arrived, the girl tore away from Blake and ran to her parents, who hugged her tightly. The girl's parents and the elder they had spoken to earlier thanked all of them profusely. The teenagers accepted the praise and reward with grace, but they were eager to leave and slipped away at the first opportunity. As they stepped out of the ramshackle building, Jaune realized the sun was starting to set.
"We should split up and gather supplies. We can use the money we got from the mission to stay here for the night, but we'll have to look for supplies now so we can leave first thing in the morning," he suggested. Blake and Ruby nodded in agreement, and the three parted ways. As Blake began searching for Yang, she chuckled at the thought that Ruby had run off to find her own partner. She wasn't sure what exactly Ruby felt towards Weiss, but she had been especially clingy since their reunion at the warehouse.
The cat was so lost in thought that she almost failed to notice Yang standing in the street, speaking with a lizard-tailed man. Blake waved to get her attention, and the blonde said a hasty goodbye to the Faunus so she could join her partner.
"So how'd it go?" Yang asked.
"Fine," Blake replied. "The girl's family was waiting for her." The cat smiled again at the thought of the looks of relief on the faces of the parents and town elder.
"Sounds sweet. Speaking of which." Yang rummaged around in her pocket and pulled out a wrapped sweet, offering it to her partner. Blake rolled her eyes at the pun but accepted the candy with a grin. Yang pulled out two more and popped one in her mouth before putting the other back. "Don't tell Ruby, okay? She normally doesn't like lemon flavored stuff, but she's been craving sugar for ages. I wanna surprise her."
"You don't have to worry about me spoiling it," Blake chuckled. "Come on, we need to go -" A voice from behind them cut her off before she could finish.
"Welcome back, Blake."
Blake froze, not wanting to look back. She glanced over at Yang and for the first time saw the blonde utterly terrified. At the sound of footsteps behind her, Blake forced herself to turn and face the man approaching her and was just in time to see him slip a white Grimm mask over his eyes.
Why? She wanted to scream at him. Why can't you just leave me alone? She settled for grabbing Yang's wrist and pulling the blonde down the street. Adam didn't follow right away, and Blake could only pray he would give them a generous lead.
REVIEW REPLIES:
YOU ARE NOT PREPARED! (For the upcoming angst). Also, we're moving to a week and a half update schedule, so the net update should be Monday the fifteenth!
Soulfulbard: Yes.
SilencedSonic: 1) Spoilers. 2) I can't really explain this one as well as weisspresso can, but to sum it up, yes, they do love each other, they just haven't really...said it. They haven't had a lot of time to.
acw28: I'm glad my mood whiplash worked effectively! Also, a tiger Faunus? Ehhh, ehehe, close.
Demetrion: Thank you for these long freaking reviews.
Dragonsoul1: One of the authors you speak to is BlackSun trash.
patleon909: Guess what. Angst.
NBased: No.
Solvdrage: I'm glad to hear that Salem was as creepy as intended, also, the Blue HalluciGrimm's name is Edgar, king of the wolves!